In Obamacare, the President’s Disregard for Consent of the Governed

Brian Darling /
August 30, 2011

Congress and the President have low approval ratings because Congress and the President continue to ignore the will of the American people. One reason for this disapproval is ObamaCare – the President’s signature health care “reform” law.

According to Real Clear Politics (RCP), the average approval rating for the President is 43.0% approval and 53.2% disapproval. RCP has Congressional job approval at a dismal 12.3% approval and 84.0% disapproval. These numbers indicate anger and rage toward federally elected politicians.

Lachlan Markay wrote on The Foundry yesterday that HHS Secretary Sebelius is voicing support for an unpopular, ineffective entitlement program with the claim that ObamaCare “is as important as the civil rights law.”

A top advisor to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius recently compared opposition to the administration’s new health care law to opposition to the 1960s civil rights movement, Politico Pro reported.

Yesterday the Kaiser Family Foundation released a poll that indicates that 44% of the American people view ObamaCare unfavorably versus 39% favorably. This same poll had the unfavorable number at 50% in July of 2010 and 50% in January of this year. The numbers of Americans who view the law favorably has dropped below 40% for the first time since July of 2010. These numbers do not bode well for ObamaCare.

Rasmussen’s tracking poll on ObamaCare indicates that 57% of Americans want ObamaCare repealed versus 37% who oppose repeal. According to Rasmussen, the number of Americans who favor repeal has been over 50%, with one exception, since the bill was signed into law on March 23, 2010. In March of this year the number of Americans supporting repeal hit 62%. The logical conclusion to a dispassionate reading of these two polls is that ObamaCare is unpopular and most Americans support repeal.

The implication by Sebelius is that opponents to a government take-over of health care are the functional equivalent to those who opposed civil rights. This is an outrageous statement by the Secretary of HHS and an attempted justification for the dismal approval ratings for ObamaCare. Sebelius clearly wants to name call opponents in an effort to bully them into submission.

Our nation is founded on the idea of the consent of the governed. Participation by the American people is a continuous process, and the First Amendment to the Constitution allows them to “petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Americans can’t be involved in the process when they are deliberately shut out.

The American people feel shut out of the legislative process when politicians engage in secret closed door meeting to craft legislation. They are outraged when Congress passes, and the President signs, legislation into law that they oppose. ObamaCare is merely one of many examples of this action by politicians that contravene the will of citizens. An immediate repeal of ObamaCare would help politicians in our Nation’s Capitol to regain the trust and consent of the American people.